Convertible gun stock



Feb. 16, 1954 J. CLINE CONVERTIBLE GUN STUCK Filed May 4, 1951 JOflA a4 INE,

INVENTOR ATTORNEYS Patented F eb. 16, 1954 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CONVERTIBLE GUN STOCK Joda Cline, Baisden, W. Va.

Application May 4, 1951, Serial No. 224,543

4 Claims. 1

This invention relates to convertible gun stocks and more particularly to a gun stock which can be used with either a telescope sight or iron sights.

It is among the objects of the invention to provide an improved convertible gun stock which may be conditioned for use with a telescope sight and easily changed to a condition for use with iron sights; which includes a separate comb piece which may be elevated by an insert or filler when it is desired to use a telescope sight to bring the comb of the stock to a comfortable position against the check of a person sighting the gun through a telescope sight, and may be lowered by removal of the insert or filler when the gun is used with regular iron sights; in which the provision of the movable comb piece does not materially reduce the strength of the stock or change its shape or appearance when conditioned for use with iron sights; and which is simple and durable in construction, economical to manufacture and effective and efficient in use.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent from a consideration of the following description and the appended claims in conjunction with the accompanying drawing wherein:

Figure 1 is a side elevational view of a gun carrying a telescope sight and having a convertible stock, illustrative of the invention, conditioned for use with the telescope sight;

Figure 2 is a side elevational view on an enlarged scale of the convertible gun stock with a portion broken away and shown in cross section to better illustrate the construction thereof;

Figures 3, 4 and 5 are transverse cross sectional views on the lines 3--3, 4-4 and 55 respectively of Figure 2; and

Figure 6 is a side elevational view on a reduced scale of the stock when conditioned for use with iron sights.

With continued reference to the drawing, the gun illustrated in Figure 1 has a barrel I carrying near its muzzle end a front iron sight II and having a notch !2 intermediate its length for the mounting of a rear iron sight, a forearm I3 extending under the rear portion of the barrel and secured thereto and a stock I4 extending rearwardly from the rear end of the forearm I3.

A telescope sight I is shown mounted on the gun barrel for use in sighting the gun.

Guns, such as sporting rifles, are ordinarily sold equipped with iron or open sights and with standard stocks designed for use with such sights. Such a standard stock is, however, not well adapted for use with a telescope sight when a telescope sight is mounted on the gun since the comb of a standard stock is not high enough to provide a comfortable rest against the cheek of a person sighting the gun through a telescope sight. It has been customary in the past to install a special, custom-made stock on a gun when the gun is equipped with a telescope sight in order to raise the comb of the stock sufficiently to provide a comfortable rest for sighting the gun. Such a modified, custom-made stock is not, however, suitable for use with the usual open or iron sights. As weather condi tions affect the use of a telescope sight so that it cannot be used successfully on days during which certain weather conditions prevail while the iron sights can be used successfully on such days, a custom stock particularly designed for use with a telescope sight renders the gun substantially useless on those days when the telescope sight cannot be used since the comb of such a stock is too high for use with open or iron sights. This usually results in the owner of a gun using the standard stock designed for open sights and enduring considerable discomfort while using the gun when equipped with a telescope sight.

The convertible stock of the present invention can be easily changed from one condition to the other so that the gun can be readily used with either the open or iron sights or the telescope sight, as may be desired, with the same stock.

The improved gun stock comprises a stock body I6 carrying a longitudinally curved butt plate I! at its wider, butt end and joined at its front end by a grip I3 of reduced cross sectional area to the rear end of the forearm I3, the trigger guard I9 being disposed substantially at the juncture of the grip I8 and the forearm I3.

The stock body It is provided with a recess in its upper portion and this recess has a fiat surface 20 extending longitudinally of the stock from the upper surface of the grip I8 at the rear end of the grip to a location spaced from the butt end of the stock body and has a flat surface 2| extending transversely of the stock body from the rear end of the longitudinally disposed surface 20 to the upper edge of the body. At its forward end the surface 20 is curved upwardly, as indicated at 22, to conform to the upward curvature of the grip I8 of the stock.

A separate comb piece 23 fits into the recess in the stock body and has a flat bottom surface 24 conforming to the shape of the surface 2!! of the recess in the stock and a flat rear end surface 25 conforming in size and shape to the rear end surface 2| of the recess. The comb piece 23 is so shaped that when it is fully received in the recess in the stock body it fills out the outline of a standard stock designed for use with open or iron sights.

Intermediate its length the comb piece 23 is provided with a recess or well 26 closed at the upper edge of the comb piece but opening through the surface 24 of the comb piece and a flat plate 21 is secured to the comb piece along the surface 24 in covering relationship to the recess 26 and is provided with a screw threaded aperture within the cross sectional area of the recess. The stock body I6 is provided with a transversely extending aperture 28 intermediate its length and registering with the recess 23 in the comb piece when the comb piece is positioned in the recess in the stock body, and with a counterbore 29 at the inner end of the bore or recess 28. A screw 30 extends through the aperture 28 in the stock body and is threaded at one end into the aperture in the plate 27. At its other end the screw carries a peripherally roughened head 3| which bears against the body l6 at the end of the aperture 28 remote from the comb piece to firmly secure the comb piece in the recess in the stock body.

A spring abutment washer 32 is secured to the screw 30 at a location substantially flush with the longitudinal surface 20 of the body recess and a coiled compression spring 33 surrounds the screw between this abutment washer and the bottom of the counterbore 29 to retain the screw in the aperture in the stock body while providing a limited freedom of resiliently resisted movement for the screw in a longitudinal direction.

When the convertible stock is conditioned for use with the telescope sight l5, an elongated insert or filler 35 is disposed between the comb piece 23 and the bottom surface of the recess in the stock body l8. This filler has a thickness substantially equal to the difference in elevation of the iron sights and the telescope sight and has flat and substantially parallel top and bottom surfaces 35 and 31' which fit the bottom surface 24 of the comb piece 23- and the bottom surface 20 of the recess in the stock body respectively. This filler has an opening 31 intermediate its length which receives the screw 36 and has bushed recesses or sockets 38 and 39 disposed one near its front and one near its rear end. The comb piece 23 carries dowel pins, one of which is illustrated in Figure 3 and indicated at 40, which fit into the sockets 38 and 39 to position the filler relative to the comb piece. The comb piece also carries sockets, as indicated at H and 1:2 in Figure and 42 and 43 in Figure 2 which open to its bottom surface 34, these sockets being arranged in pairs disposed one pair near each end of the filler with the two sockets of each pair spaced apart transversely of the filler. The stock body it carries in the recessed portion thereof pairs of dowel pins, as indicated at 44 and 45 in Figure 5, which fit into the corresponding sockets in the filler to hold the filler against movement relative to the stock body.

With this arrangement, when the filler 35 is disposed between the stock body and the comb piece 23, the comb piece is elevated to a position in which it provides a comfortable rest for the cheek of a person sighting through the telescope sight and the screw 30 holds the comb piece and the filler firmly in position within the recess provided therefor in the stock body I6.

In order to condition the stock for use with the iron sights, the screw is first threaded out of the plate 21 and the filler 35 is then removed. The comb piece 33 is then replaced in the recess in the stock body and the screw 30 threaded down until the comb piece is firmly secured in the recess, the comb piece having bushed apertures or sockets, as indicated at 46 and 41 in Figure 5, which receive the dowel pins carried by the stock body It to hold the comb piece against movement relative to the stock body.

, The invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof. The present embodiment is, therefore, to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, the

scope of the invention being indicated by the intermediate its length, a plate secured to said comb piece in covering relationship to said recess and having a screw threaded aperture therein, said body having an aperture extending transversely therethrough in alignment with the recess in said comb piece, a screw extending through the aperture in said body and threaded into said plate, said screw having a head bearing against said body at the end of said aperture remote from said comb piece to firmly secure said comb piece to said body, and a filler disposed in said recess between said body and said comb piece to raise the latter relative to said body, said filler having an opening therein receiving said screw.

2. In combination with a gun stock having a recess in the upper portion thereof extending longitudinally of the stock from the location of the grip to a location spaced from the butt end of the stock and providing a flat surface extending transversely of the thickness and 1ongitudinally of the length of the stock, said stock having a hole extending therethrough transversely of the width thereof and medially of the length and width of said fiat surface and substantially perpendicular thereto, a separate comb piece having a flat surface extending longitudinally thereof and of a size and shape to smoothly fill out the contour of said stock when the comb piece is disposed in said recess with the flat surface of said comb piece superimposed on the flat surface of the stock provided by said recess, said comb piece having a tapped hole opening to the fiat surface thereof and registering with the hole extending through said stock, a filler disposed in said recess and having spaced apart fiat surfaces one of which bears on the fiat surface of said stock within said recess and the other of which receives the flat surface of said comb piece with said comb piece extending longitudinally of said filler, said filler having a hole extending therethrough between the fiat surfaces thereof and registering with the hole in said stock and the tapped hole in said comb piece, and

a screw extending through the holes in said stock and said filler and threaded at one end into the tapped hole in said comb piece and having on its other end a head disposed against the edge of said stock remote from said recess.

- 3. In combination with a gun stock having a recess in the upper portion thereof extending longitudinally of the stock from the location of the grip to a location spaced from the butt end of the stock and providing a flat surface extending transversely of the thickness and longitudinally of the length of the stock, said stock having a hole extending therethrough transversely of the width thereof medially of the length and Width of said fiat surface and substantially perpendicular thereto, a separate comb piece having a flat surface extending longitudinally thereof and a size and shape to smoothly fill out the contour of said stock when the comb piece is disposed in said recess with the fiat surface of said comb piece superimposed on the flat surface of the stock provided by said recess, said comb piece having a tapped hole opening to the flat surface thereof and registering with the hole extending through said stock, a filler disposed in said recess and having a spaced apart flat surfaces one of which bears on the flat surface of said stock within said recess and the other of which receives the flat surface of said comb piece with said comb piece extending longitudinally of said filler, said filler having a hole extending therethrough between the flat surfaces thereof and registering with the hole in said stock and the tapped hole in said comb piece, and a screw extending through the holes in said stock and said filler and threaded at one end into the tapped hole in said comb piece and having on its other end a head disposed against the edge of said stock remote from said recess, said filler having its end adjacent said grip contoured in continuation of the adjacent portion of said stock and the adjacent end of said comb piece.

4. In combination with a gun stock having a recess in the upper portion thereof extending longitudinally of the stock from the location of the grip to a location spaced from the butt end of the stock and providing a flat surface extending transversely of the thickness and longitudinally of the length of the stock, said stock having a hole extending therethrough transversely of the Width thereof medially of the length and width of said flat surface and substantially perpendicular thereto, a separate comb piece having a flat surface extending longitudinally thereof and a size and shape to smoothly fill out the contour of said stock when the comb piece is disposed in said recess with the flat surface of said comb piece superimposed on the flat surface of the stock provided by said recess, said comb piece having a tapped hole opening to the flat surface thereof and registering with the hole extending through said stock, a filler disposed in said recess and having spaced apart fiat surfaces one of which bears on the fiat surface of said stock within said recess and the other of which receives the flat surface of said comb piece with said comb piece extending longitudinally of said filler, said filler having a hole extending therethrough between the flat surfaces thereof and registering with the hole in said stock and the tapped hole in said comb piece, a screw extending through the holes in said stock and said filler and threaded at one end into the tapped hole in said comb piece and having on its other end a head disposed against the edge of said stock remote from said recess, and dowel means engaging between the fiat surfaces of said stock, said comb piece and said filler rigidly holding said filler and said comb piece in position relative to each other and said stock such that the side surfaces of said filler and said comb piece smoothly continue the contour of the side surfaces of said stock.

JODA CLINE.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 737,732 Gaut Sept. 1, 1903 856,507 Alves June 11, 1907 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 8,549 Great Britain 1890 25,289 Great Britain 1901 114,228 Australia Nov. 27, 1941 

